USM Public Affairs

On Friday, April 3, more than 100 fifth through eighth-graders statewide will descend on Portland to participate in the National Geographic Society’s Maine Geographic Bee taking place in USM’s Abromson Community Education Center. The winner of the Maine Bee will go to Washington D.C. this May for the national competition hosted by TV game show host Alex Trebek. USM’s Geography-Anthropology Department is co-host of the event and members of the faculty serve as judges and moderators while USM students assist.

The event begins at 10:45 a.m. and the final round runs from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. The awards ceremony will take place at 3:45-4:15 p.m.

Event: National Geographic Society Maine Geographic Bee

Date/Time: Friday, April 3. Final round 2:45-3:45 p.m.; awards ceremony 3:45-4:15

Place: USM’s Hannaford Lecture Hall in the Abromson Community Education Center, Portland

Contact: Brian Cushing, Maine Geographic Bee Coordinator and teacher at Lake Region High School, 207-595-3071 (cell). He will have his cell phone with him the day of the event.

The University of Southern Maine (USM) offers its 10,000 plus students more than 115 areas of undergraduate and graduate study. USM’s location in southern Maine, a region cited as one of the most liveable in the country, offers a range of educational, cultural and recreational opportunities.

Join USM LAC faculty, area employers and graduates from the Arts and Humanities Program to find out more about the value of this degree.

For more information, see:
http://usm.maine.edu/lac/events/artshumanitiescareer.html

The University of Southern Maine (USM) offers its 10,000 plus students more than 115 areas of undergraduate and graduate study. USM’s location in southern Maine, a region cited as one of the most liveable in the country, offers a range of educational, cultural and recreational opportunities.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Ellen Goodman, will be the speaker at the University of Southern Maine’s 129th Commencement. Ceremonies will take place Saturday, May 16, in the Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland. Goodman will be awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters at the ceremony.

Goodman, a longtime summer resident of Chebeague Island, is perhaps best known for her syndicated Boston Globe column that appears in over 300 newspapers. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary in 1980. Among her many other awards are the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award (1980), the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (1988), and the American Woman Award presented in 1994 by the Women’s Research & Education Institute. In 2008, she won the Ernie Pyle Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

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The University of Southern Maine’s Office of Undergraduate Admission and Honors Program have simplified the Honors Program admission process for incoming students. Students admitted to the university who show high achievement through grade point averages and standardized test scores are accepted into the honors program. The Honors Program has seen unprecedented interest this year, and is rapidly filling slots for the fall semester. Before this, students interested in becoming members of the Honors Program needed to submit a separate application. For more information, please contact Sara “Cookie” Treible, assistant director of USM Undergraduate Admission, at 207-780-5728, or visit http://usm.maine.edu/admit/ for information about applying to USM.

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The University of Southern Maine annual Job Fair will be held from 12 noon-4 p.m. on Thursday, April 9 in the Sullivan Gymnasium on Falmouth St., Portland. Students, alumni and the general public are welcome to discuss employment and career possibilities with more than 35 employers. This is the only college job fair in Maine that is open to the public.

The event is sponsored by USM Career Services and Professional Life Development and co-sponsored by Employment Times, News Channel 8 WMTW, and JobsInMe.com. Participants will include: AAA Northern New England, Cianbro, Mercy Health System of Maine, Northwest Mutual Financial Network, Tyler Technologies, and Unum, and it will showcase job opportunities ranging from seasonal to full time. For more information, please call Chris Harriman at 207-780-5330 or visit: http://www.usm.maine.edu/careers/jobfair.

Editors Note:
Mary Ann Benson, Assistant Director, Career Services, can talk on the current Maine job market, employment, and prospects for 2009 graduates. “This year students are more realistic about starting pay and finding employment.” Says Benson, “More students have come to me looking for help than in years past.”

For help arranging interviews, call Bob Caswell or Judy O’Malley at USM’s Office of Public Affairs at 780-4200.

The University of Southern Maine (USM) offers its 10,000 plus students more than 115 areas of undergraduate and graduate study. USM’s location in southern Maine, a region cited as one of the most liveable in the country, offers a range of educational, cultural and recreational opportunities.

The University of Southern Maine, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and the Census of the Marine Life, are hosting a lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 9. Scott Kraus, vice president of research at the New England Aquarium will speak on “Whales in an Urban Ocean: Lessons on Coexistence.” The lecture will be held at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, 350 Commercial Street, Portland.

Seating for this free lecture is limited, so please reserve your seat with Patty Collins at (207) 228-1625 or lectures@gmri.org.

For additional information, visit these Web sites.

See http://www.gmri.org/ and http://www.usm.maine.edu/gulfofmaine-census/ for additional information.

The University of Southern Maine (USM) offers its 10,000 plus students more than 115 areas of undergraduate and graduate study. USM’s location in southern Maine, a region cited as one of the most liveable in the country, offers a range of educational, cultural and recreational opportunities.

The University of Maine School of Law is hosting a symposium, “The Economy, the Courts and the Way Forward: Maine’s Court System in 2014,” from 3 to 5 p.m., Monday, March 30, in USM’s Abromson Community Education Center, Portland. Discussion will center on how the state’s justice system can be improved to make it more efficient and accessible to citizens and businesses in light of the current economic downturn. The symposium is free and open to the public. For more information, and to R.S.V.P., please contact Jenna Blake Davis at jadley@usm.maine.edu or 780-4344.

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The Portland Chamber Music Festival, best known for its dynamic summer concerts, is presenting a spring program at USM’s Abromson Community Education Center, Portland, at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 30. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at www.usm.maine.edu/cce or at the door.

The program will include Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet in D major, Op. 44, No. 1”; Haydn’s “String Quartet in G major, Op. 77, No. 1”; and “Madrigals for Violin and Viola” by Bohuslav Martinu. Festival Director, Artistic Co-director, and violinist Jennifer Elowitch will be joined by Gabriela Diaz, violinist with The Mira Trio; Laurie Kennedy, principal violist for the Portland Symphony Orchestra; and Andrew Mark, cellist and chair of the String Department at The Boston Conservatory.

This is an ideal opportunity to hear nationally renowned musicians in an intimate setting and enjoy a precursor to the festival’s 16th summer season.

For more information, contact Molly Morell at mmorell@usm.maine.edu or 780-5931. (Photos are available upon request.)

The University of Southern Maine (USM) offers its 10,000 plus students more than 115 areas of undergraduate and graduate study. USM’s location in southern Maine, a region cited as one of the most liveable in the country, offers a range of educational, cultural and recreational opportunities.

The University of Southern Maine Art Department B.F.A. exhibit will be on display Friday, April 17 through Sunday, May 10 in USM’s Art Gallery, Gorham. An opening reception will be held from 6-8 p.m., Friday, April 17 in the Gallery. This senior thesis exhibit represents the culminating work of 15 graduating studio art majors with concentrations in ceramics, digital art, drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpture. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday-Friday, and 1-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, call Carolyn Eyler at 207-780-5008 or visit www.usm.maine.edu/gallery.

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Area Gallery, Woodbury Campus Center, Portland

The USM Art Galleries presents organically constructed sculptures and reliefs by USM art alumnae Sue Bennett ’98 and Laura Dunn ’96. The exhibit dates are Friday, April 3- Saturday, May 9, in the Area Gallery, Woodbury Campus Center, located on Bedford St. in Portland. The reception will take place from 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, April 7 in the Area Gallery. Area Gallery hours are 7 a.m.-9:45 p.m., Monday-Friday. Admission is free. For more information, call 207-780-5008 or visit the gallery Web site at www.usm.maine.edu/gallery.
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